Vajpayee, SP term Lucknow violence a conspiracy

Lucknow, Mar 4 (UNI) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the ruling Samajwadi Party today termed the communal flare-up in the Uttar Pradesh capital yesterday a ''pre-planned conspiracy.'' While Mr Vajpayee did not name anyone, senior SP leader and state parliamentary affairs minister Mohd Azam Khan alleged the violence was part of a larger conspiracy of the US and its ''supporters''.

''The only reason for targetting Hindu and Islam religions is because India -- a vibrant democracy with a firm commitment to secularism -- is fast moving towards self reliance...the US and its supporters, therefore, want to create hurdles and ruin the atmosphere,'' he alleged.

He also assured stern action against the guilty.

Mr Vajpayee too demanded stringent action against persons responsible for the flare up and asked people to maintain peace.

''Lucknow is known for its tradition of friendship and peace...these things should not be compromised by such violent incidents.'' Mr Vajpayee, an MP from Lucknow, also condoled the death of four persons in the violence, triggered off during an anti-Bush demonstration in a statement.

Meanwhile, the CPI (M-L), demanded a judicial probe into the violence and said the state government failed to control the situation before it went out of control.

Reacting to the situation, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Salman Khurshid termed the communal flare-up as yet another failure of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government and demanded immediate restoration of normalcy.

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